Abstract

The fate of the Liberal Party in West Yorkshire is seen by some as a microcosm of its inevitable decline nationally, because of its inability to appeal to the newly enfranchised working class with its values too close to the Conservatives. Dutton has contended conversely that West Yorkshire Liberalism demonstrated the varied pattern of the Party's development in different regions, and the way in which its association with the Conservatives significantly affected the latter. Using newly available sources, this article takes up Dutton's argument and extends it to look at the fate of the Liberals who did not work with other parties, and what their persistence implies about the fundamental driving forces of politics in West Yorkshire and elsewhere.